Reminder
by Vahkhiin
Summary: He feels like that moment when the sun blankets over her when she steps out just after dawn to soak the morning rays in. That feeling that lasts for just a moment but yet is somehow enough to reassure her that somehow or another everything would be alright again.


**A/N: Wow... I don't know where this one came from. I should really be focusing on my other fics but eh... I started typing and then this happened. **

He feels like that moment when the sun blankets over her when she steps out just after dawn to soak the morning rays in. That feeling that lasts for just a moment but yet is somehow enough to reassure her that somehow or another everything would be alright again.

His kisses bring her back to here though and he trails them across the plane of her shoulder and he anchors his lips at the place where her neck and shoulder meets. He leaves open and sensual kisses there and with every single one she feels the warmth pool in the very core of her being. She hears him breathe her name all soft and breathily in a moan and she crumbles.

She's done this before; shared this with Jimmy. But that was nothing compared to how she feels right now. This is like the universe exploding in her heart and soaring in the clouds. This is like another existence altogether. This is nothing like she has ever imagined because this, this is Daryl Dixon.

This is the same man that hated her singing. The same man that sat with her late into the night and on a porch, telling her about his life before this all went to shit. This is the same man that carried her and gave her that serious piggy back ride. This, the same man that was Rick's right hand and Merle's brother. The man that proclaimed to never care but yet was the very epitome of a caring good person.

"Beth…" he breathes again and god she shatters when he does that.

Her heart flutters in her chest and she feels him breathing heavily too. She feels him all so real and warm and right surround her and really there's no other place she wants to be.

"Daryl…" she breathes in unison.

"I don't-" she cuts him right off with a kiss and for a moment he tries to push her back and tries to finish where he left off.

But all it takes is for her to curl her fingers in his hair and to push him further back down in the bed. That's all it takes to shut him up again and for her to continue. They've come too far for her to not have this; to not live entirely in this moment and to not let him doubt himself anymore.

She's taken a bullet to the skull and she's taken on board more than anybody could ever imagine. He knows though. He always does. And maybe that's why they're here. Maybe that's why she wants this with him. Maybe that's why she loves him too. Maybe that's why he doesn't stop running his hands all over her. Maybe that's why he's loving her too.

"Love me…" she murmurs right into his ear when he presses kiss after kiss against her neck again.

He's rolled them around and is on top of her and honestly it feels as though as if every curve of her body was made to be like this with him. She presses a palm against the back of his neck and her fingers curl into the soft puffs of his hair there. She kisses his neck and kisses his cheek and kisses everywhere she manages.

"'s not…" he tries again and for the sake of it, she lets him pull back. She lets him hover there above her and she lets him see her completely raw.

She lets him see into her soul and she knows that he finally sees that too.

And he is all quiet now and silent and struggling to find the right words to murmur to her. His eyes are all blue and serious and intent and staring her down. She knows that even if he wanted to run away right now, he couldn't and he never would. He finally moves and shifts but only to press a hand into the pillow beside her head. He doesn't move away from her.

"Beth…" her name forms on his lips in a whisper. It's so quiet and so silent and his voice sounds so small.

She searches his eyes for any signs of regret; for any sign of question or uncertainty. She finds none. She already knew there would be none there. This was all in his head because she could see and feel that he wanted this just as much as she did. He slides his other hand that was at the bare of her waist and she feels it curl around the side of her face. She wonders, briefly if perhaps he knew right now how romantic he was seeming to be.

She draws a breath in finally and she just smiles. She slides her hand that was around his lower back and she slides it onto his face. She brushes over his hair and she moves his fringe aside and she just looks at him.

"I want this," she murmurs.

He doesn't smile though or move or really do anything at all other than stare at her. But she knows that he feels it; knows that he's riding this same wave with her. She knows because she sees it in his eyes. She sees the warmth and the glow and the desire. She sees the emotions like a rainbow in his eyes and she sees all of him.

"I ain'…" he starts but he trails off again. His voice is all gravely and rough but his touch is so gentle and the way he brushes that finger at the side of her face feels almost like the breeze.

She tilts her head and offers another smile.

"But you are…" she reassures him.

"Don' deserve this," he finally whispers and looks away from her eyes and stares instead at the space on the pillow beside her head, "Don' deserve you."

"Remember that house?" she starts and it takes him a while until he decides to look back at her.

He barely manages to nod but she sees it.

"We would'a stayed there y'know," she continues but leaves it at that.

He only manages to stare at her but she knows that he is thinking; knows that he is remembering and that he is going back there.

"Would'a built a life there…you 'n me," she murmurs.

He looks away when she says that and she hears him sigh and say, "Y'don't know that."

"Yes I do," she tells him simply.

"How?" he asks and briefly spares a glance at her.

"Because you would'a done whatever I wanted t'do," she tells him and she leaves it at that for a moment until he finally turns to look at her, "'n if I wanted t'stay there…then that's what y'would'a done."

"Yeah…" he murmurs and it sounds more like a question than it does a confirmation.

"What happened…happened," she continues.

She knows that everything she is about to say will sound raw. But it is real and this is her and she knows that he will listen even though she knows he does not want too.

"I wanted t'see the dog," she reminds him, "'n so that's why when y'heard it, y'went for it…"

She sees his eyes flash; sees him flinch but only barely.

"Y'forgot about checking the door first," she continues.

She sees him blink and look away from her and instead at that place on the pillow beside her head again.

"Forgot about the walkers," she murmurs this time, "Y'just wanted t'let the dog in."

She spares a moment to breathe and to let her words echo in his mind for a while. She turns his face gently with her fingers so that he finally looks at her again.

"Because that's what I wanted…'n so that's all y'thought about."

She brushes the bangs away from his eyes and he just looks at her. He stares so intently and she knows that he feels the weight of her words; knows that this is really the only way for her to remind him that despite it all, she made it and she is here. She will always be here because this is where she belongs.

She takes a moment now to move but only slightly; she feels the muscles in her stomach and back tense as she pushes herself from the bed to lightly press her lips at his chin. She presses back into the pillow again a second later and he still stares at her. He doesn't move at all.

"I know that y'can never forget," she murmurs, "I'll never forget it either."

She breathes and lets her words linger there for a moment before she continues.

"But we're here," she tells him and spares just a second to look around the room.

It isn't all that well lit or decorated but it's her room and three days ago she didn't even know if he was still alive. Three days ago she had only just been here with Morgan for a little over a week. She remembered everything and everyone and even felt a sense of kinship with Morgan after finding out that Morgan had known Rick.

But then her entire family walked up to those gates and her family made it here. And he was right there amongst them. He was right there with his crossbow in hand and bangs all in his eyes. He was there with his finger on the trigger and his eyes looking at her as if he'd seen a ghost or something else altogether. And she was there too looking at him from where she was standing by the gates with her hands curled around the bars.

"I held you," he murmurs in a tone that is so coarse and so gravely but yet so gentle and so warm.

She keeps quiet and looks instead up at him. She lets him think his words over and lets him find them on his own.

"'n it hurt," he continues, "It really hurt."

She feels him curl his hand around the side of her face again and feels him stroke her hair.

"Ain' ever felt nothin' that hurt like that before," he softly admits.

She shifts her hand and curls it around his chin and she presses her thumb at the dip between his bottom lip and his chin.

"You haven't lost me," she reminds him quietly.

She watches as he finally closes his eyes and as he leans into her touch. She feels him melt into her and suddenly all she really wants to do is hold him.

"Maybe y'gotta…" he starts and she sees him blink his eyes open.

His look holds her right there because she realises that she is staring right into his soul now. He is letting her in and letting her see all his insecurities and all his pain and all the horrors of his life. He is laying it all out for her.

"Gotta remind me sometimes," he continues.

She wants to tell him again that he shouldn't need to depend on her to remind him; that he should just know that she will always be here. But then she remembers the scar that'll forever be there on her forehead. She remembers the pain and the nightmares and the sleepless nights. She remembers Grady and Dawn and every place they have all been.

She remembers the farm and her mother, the prison and her father and the days she spent with him running and trying to find the rest of their family. She remembers the words she said to him on that porch and she remembers it all.

"Okay," she whispers and she promises him that.


End file.
